Bridges reiterates plan to scrap thousands of regulations will improve lives of renters, small business owners

March 11, 2020

The National Party leader says cutting multiple regulations will leave people better off.

Simon Bridges says National's plans to scrap regulations will leave people better off as it's the renters and small businesses being hurt by the Government's "red tape".

National announced it will look to cut multiple regulations, with Mr Bridges this morning telling TVNZ1's Breakfast he would prioritise more money in people's pockets if he becomes prime minister at this year's election.

"A lot of small businesses but also households struggle under cost and compliance and burden and we're wanting to clear it away," he said.

Mr Bridges said there was "a raft of regulations" in relation to residential tenancies, and it was the renters footing the bill at the other end.

"I do think having a bonfire of regulations, dealing with the anti-money laundering law and simplifying that, resource management reform, having a health and safety common sense test - these are very important things that make for a country where small business people and mums and dads can get up in the morning and get on with things without unnecessary regulations and red tape."

Mr Bridges says there was about 40,000 regulations that no one knows about. He's previously pledged to get rid of 100 in the first six months of a National Government if elected.

"We're talking about regulations where for landlords they can put rent up once a year, they have no say on pets, they have no say in a raft of other areas," he said.

"The Government has the idea that that's a good way to get things done, we don't, so I think that gives choice at the election.

"With Covid-19, people have a very real sense of the economic crisis that we're in and we want to show them some light at the end of the tunnel, a sense of our very positive plans for New Zealand in this area."

His criticism of healthy home calculations as 'too complicated' is disingenuous, Green Building Council's CEO says.

When asked by Breakfast host Hayley Holt about his comments stating the heating output on qualifying heaters in the healthy homes regulations as being too complicated and requiring advanced mathematics, Mr Bridges said no one was saying safety should be compromised.

"But the reality is, complex landlords' rules have heaped on cost and compliance, and by the way it's not the landlord paying it," he said.

"Kiwi's know right now, Hayley, that rent's gone up $50 and it's directly because of complex rules like this.

"We either want a Government who thinks the answer to everything is more red tape and unnecessary compliance that hurts people and piles on cost, or we want one that says 'you know what, we want a freer country where people can get up in the morning and decide to run a small business and do well at it, where landlords get on with their job of providing homes to New Zealanders when there's a critical shortage at the moment, and where mums and dads have, as a result of less cost and compliance like scaffolding on single storey houses and the like, more money in their pocket to deal with the household pressures they have'.

"That's what I prioritise and what I would prioritise as prime minister of New Zealand."

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